You're a natural teacher. Well done. I wish you had taught me. My technique is to dig a hole in the dirt under a tree for the stick, bury it so it's sticking straight up, then I climb up the tree, hold the knife in my hand, dive off the tree branch, lock up my entire body and hope I scrape down some part of the impaled stick. Landing is my main problem. I'm only good for one or two feather sticks a year.
Highly underrated. One can even carry 4-5 lengths of suitable dowel in a side pocket, to use with the pencil sharpener! But, yeah, they make extra fine tinder that will light up pretty well. However, be sure to have you fine kindling ready as they burn up pretty fast!
"It's a process through a series of visits and playing around." This is how all of my outdoorsman skills have been acquired. Yes, some have been honed through intentional training that was less playful, but all of it was fun which kept me interested while allowing me to learn. You are a great teacher Crockett. Keep up the good work and continue making these vids 'more for the beginner' on a semi regular basis. I plan to share this with others who haven't learned the skill yet. You have put into words and demonstration what I have learned over time through trial and error and now is muscle memory. Still, I learned a few things from you here that I am sure to focus on next time I am in the woods. Thank you.
I personally find making feather sticks an excersice in knife masterery more then a excersice in fire starting. what is important in fire starting is the tinder bundle that is being made with the shavings, not the length or that they remain attached to the stick but that they are thin and can be bundled. let me know if you are of a differing opinion.
Agreed. The hard core featherstickers make those ultra-fine curls for tinder! But I agree with you, that fire-making is all about the tinder, and getting the kindling going! I've posted many times that a good candle is hugely useful in getting flame from tinder to kindling. All it needs is a small flame to light the candle, then you can take your time getting the pre-prepared kindling bundle going. Then you extinguish the candle. One can use it dozens of times, and is simple to replace (even make from scratch!. After all we've been doing it for thousands of years!).
I carry a modfied Crunch multitool, an 8" Hooyman saw blade to be held in the visegrip of the Crunch, and a modified Condor E-tool, with a REAL saw edge and that side of the shovel somewhat flattened out. I have yet to find any woods (enough to have a fire in the first place) where I can't access large enough wood to split it into quarters (using wooden wedges) so that i have those 4 DRY sharp corners to convert into feathers. :-) Just splitting the stick in half does not suffice when everything is soaking wet (which is when you are most likely to actually NEED a fire.)
Hey Cr0cket20, I just watched Devin's video with you and had to head over and check this dude out. Awesome title for this video and it caught my eye immediately as my feathers tend to suck...lol. My channel description says it all, I basically rolled off the couch last March and decided to buy some gear and get outside an try this out for myself. Well, its been a huge learning experience to say the least but I've practiced and persevered through a lot and documented my journey on my channel. This video was an awesome learning experience and I'm grateful for it, I'm all subbed up and thank you for sharing the knowledge.
Appreciate it Kevin. Cool to hear you're getting out and hittin' the mountains. I find by following up with what I learned via book or video for example, by actually doing, it really ingrains the lessons and where I learn the most.
This video reminds me what a big waste of time making feather sticks is. The whole process is trying to tell u it’s easier to just cut off curls. Don’t fight it. 😉
Looking at the feathersticks I think Mors Kochanski would be turning in his grave. I fear that the hard core featherstickers spend more time hand picking the exact wood they use for the finest feathersticks. Of course as we know, and as you demonstrated, this is usually not available in nature, or you'd have to do some serious large log reduction to get ideal lengths of the best wood. For most practical purposes those feathersticks are just fine, especially as there are so many options regarding tinder these days that one can carry easily and conveniently. I notice that these days many people just cut very fine slices and use them in a bundle of loose bits rather than being attached to the stick like that. It seems to work just as well, but won't win you any camping competitions!
using the right knife helps ie scandi grind , right tool for right job , thats why i always carry a scandi of some sort neck knife usually .. god bless
if you can baton the point of your knife into a non-mobile hunk of wood, you can then use both hands and your body to move the stick past the cutting edge, making a lot of feathers in a big hurry, in a very controlled manner.
Thanks for the tips! I was wondering if you felt the type of grind of the knife matters. Think most of my knives have a sabre grind or a convex grind to them (think Kershaw camp 10 and Buck 105 pathfinder)
If there is a secondary edge, like a v-grind from factory for a lot of knives...they aren't the best. If it is a true scandi or a true convex they are amazing, specifically a good convex like a Bark River.
nice demonstration, feather sticks are harder than one might think, especially with branches like that, easier when using split wood with nice dry flatish inner faces... my question is what is your preferred blade grind & thickness for carving fire sticks?
My feather sticks suck because I’ve never really had to use them...A bunch of twigs or small kindling on top of fatwood has never not worked for me. Fatwood has always been readily available to me tho
Thanks for this video. I am a knife guy, but my strength is in folders. I am a novice bush-craft type. So I am learning and still trying out a lot of fixed blade knives to find out what will work best for me. (Of course there are a lot of things that will work best for pretty much everyone - I liked your video on what you would take on Alone). I never heard of the "lock the elbow" method before, so thanks for that. What part of North America are you from?
Grat video, absolutely going to try this out today! Cheers from Sweden (p.s. our beloved F1-knife is a pain in the ass when it comes to making feather sticks :D)
@French Frys You can say what you want but it has worked for me 1 million times and I am no expert. Get finer feathers and then do chunky ones to keep the flame. Works just fine
@French Frys if you say so. I know guys from all over the country including the Pacific Northwest. They can even start fire with a bow drill. It’s about skill and practice. But honestly whatever gets your fire going is all that matters. It’s not necessary to use sparks there are a million other ways to go
@Chance Margheim I agree, it’s all about practice. Look up NW Primate on here. He literally gets bow drill fires lit, with wet wood, in the snow. Anything is possible with practice. I have gotten very fine feather sticks to light in pretty damp situations in the adirondack mountains and here in North Carolina. Just gotta take your time and do good prep so your setting yourself up for success.
Hey Crocket, a bit off-topic, but what are those gloves you are wearing? They look like an insulated version of my "Tactical Original Covert" gloves, but I can't find the insulated ones with that color anywhere. How do you like them?
They're an insulated version of the Mechanix gloves. I picked them up at Walmart I think last year. Wasn't even looking for them and walked by and said "got to have those."
Say Heah CrOcket, Nice to see you. There's this Russian Guy, he did a video on how some make feathers in Siberia. I sort of started to use that technique, and All's Well. I actually don't look for small pieces of branches, I use a whole dead fall, the steeper the angle the better, or sometimes I position the wood. But a good 60°-70° angle standing is good. I also don't make a big bunch of feathers, but many smaller ones. Also I don't primarily go for ultra thin, as long as there's thin and not so thick, but again many of 3-4 strans.,,.p
Cr0cket20 Yeah, it's a no Brainer, but it works great. No more looking for a straight no knots branch, any standing dead fall works, OK. As long as your using a nice sharp knife.,,.p
A coworker at my previous company gave it to me. I think his brother started a climbing company or something. Honestly it was the first beenie I grabbed to keep the ol' bald head warm.
ive found conifers are the best for making feather sticks or solid broadleaves like Oak, ironwood, hazel etc..............The top tip is to get out of the wind and make the best ones you can and make fire. Its that simple. Modern art masterpieces are great but those that look like crap work too..........lol.......my curls are crap compared to what i used to be able to do. Out of practice................or in laymans terms..........lazy. lol...........Its easy when theres birch bark and tamarack twigs at hand.
Great info. :D I can get my feathers to take spark but still trying to improve and make it better/finer. The tips/info in this was very helpful especially mid way thru. TFS. Subbing :D C.R.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
You're a natural teacher. Well done. I wish you had taught me. My technique is to dig a hole in the dirt under a tree for the stick, bury it so it's sticking straight up, then I climb up the tree, hold the knife in my hand, dive off the tree branch, lock up my entire body and hope I scrape down some part of the impaled stick. Landing is my main problem. I'm only good for one or two feather sticks a year.
That's not a bad method. In fact I just read that in a survival book titled "Methods of Survival that One Can Only Try Once." ; )
Other titles include: "My Life As A Kamikaze: A Short Novel."
That just made my day.
I found carrying a pencil sharper and using small sticks is pretty underrated as well.
Faster if you chuck it up in a cordless drill......
Highly underrated. One can even carry 4-5 lengths of suitable dowel in a side pocket, to use with the pencil sharpener! But, yeah, they make extra fine tinder that will light up pretty well. However, be sure to have you fine kindling ready as they burn up pretty fast!
"It's a process through a series of visits and playing around." This is how all of my outdoorsman skills have been acquired. Yes, some have been honed through intentional training that was less playful, but all of it was fun which kept me interested while allowing me to learn. You are a great teacher Crockett. Keep up the good work and continue making these vids 'more for the beginner' on a semi regular basis. I plan to share this with others who haven't learned the skill yet. You have put into words and demonstration what I have learned over time through trial and error and now is muscle memory. Still, I learned a few things from you here that I am sure to focus on next time I am in the woods. Thank you.
I love it when you bushcraft guys have your dogs with you, they steal the show, I think its funny
Philip Davis its called backupmeat
There's a skill I definitely have not mastered. I enjoyed the skill-builder "workshop" feel to this one.
Thanks. I notice when I haven't done it in a while I need to brush up. Just like anything I guess.
I personally find making feather sticks an excersice in knife masterery more then a excersice in fire starting. what is important in fire starting is the tinder bundle that is being made with the shavings, not the length or that they remain attached to the stick but that they are thin and can be bundled.
let me know if you are of a differing opinion.
Agreed. The hard core featherstickers make those ultra-fine curls for tinder! But I agree with you, that fire-making is all about the tinder, and getting the kindling going!
I've posted many times that a good candle is hugely useful in getting flame from tinder to kindling. All it needs is a small flame to light the candle, then you can take your time getting the pre-prepared kindling bundle going. Then you extinguish the candle. One can use it dozens of times, and is simple to replace (even make from scratch!. After all we've been doing it for thousands of years!).
I carry a modfied Crunch multitool, an 8" Hooyman saw blade to be held in the visegrip of the Crunch, and a modified Condor E-tool, with a REAL saw edge and that side of the shovel somewhat flattened out. I have yet to find any woods (enough to have a fire in the first place) where I can't access large enough wood to split it into quarters (using wooden wedges) so that i have those 4 DRY sharp corners to convert into feathers. :-) Just splitting the stick in half does not suffice when everything is soaking wet (which is when you are most likely to actually NEED a fire.)
Nice! You have a nice teaching style.
A thin edge on your knife helps a lot too. Great video:)
Hey Cr0cket20, I just watched Devin's video with you and had to head over and check this dude out. Awesome title for this video and it caught my eye immediately as my feathers tend to suck...lol. My channel description says it all, I basically rolled off the couch last March and decided to buy some gear and get outside an try this out for myself. Well, its been a huge learning experience to say the least but I've practiced and persevered through a lot and documented my journey on my channel. This video was an awesome learning experience and I'm grateful for it, I'm all subbed up and thank you for sharing the knowledge.
Appreciate it Kevin. Cool to hear you're getting out and hittin' the mountains. I find by following up with what I learned via book or video for example, by actually doing, it really ingrains the lessons and where I learn the most.
Indeed, I'm a practical learner and can't wait to go out and work on my feathers with your technique. Many thanks Cr0cket20!
This video reminds me what a big waste of time making feather sticks is. The whole process is trying to tell u it’s easier to just cut off curls. Don’t fight it. 😉
Told you!! Dog and kids will take over your channel!! LOL! Nice whittling!
great video Crocket. are you going to do a review of that knife? also, whats the name of the knife? thanks
Nice technique & Cute dog!!
Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks - mine have sucked in the past and I need to take my time and try different species.
Hope that helps.
Great video amigo. Excellently presented.
I can see you pooch was just waiting to pounce everytime!
LOL I had to keep her at bay. She loves to chew.
Looking at the feathersticks I think Mors Kochanski would be turning in his grave.
I fear that the hard core featherstickers spend more time hand picking the exact wood they use for the finest feathersticks. Of course as we know, and as you demonstrated, this is usually not available in nature, or you'd have to do some serious large log reduction to get ideal lengths of the best wood.
For most practical purposes those feathersticks are just fine, especially as there are so many options regarding tinder these days that one can carry easily and conveniently. I notice that these days many people just cut very fine slices and use them in a bundle of loose bits rather than being attached to the stick like that. It seems to work just as well, but won't win you any camping competitions!
What type of tree makes the best feather sticks
using the right knife helps ie scandi grind , right tool for right job , thats why i always carry a scandi of some sort neck knife usually .. god bless
if you can baton the point of your knife into a non-mobile hunk of wood, you can then use both hands and your body to move the stick past the cutting edge, making a lot of feathers in a big hurry, in a very controlled manner.
Good info.
Thanks for taking the time to share.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you and yours.
Merry Christmas and Happy new year to you and your family as well. Hope you're all doing well.
Thanks for the tips!
I was wondering if you felt the type of grind of the knife matters. Think most of my knives have a sabre grind or a convex grind to them (think Kershaw camp 10 and Buck 105 pathfinder)
If there is a secondary edge, like a v-grind from factory for a lot of knives...they aren't the best. If it is a true scandi or a true convex they are amazing, specifically a good convex like a Bark River.
nice demonstration, feather sticks are harder than one might think, especially with branches like that, easier when using split wood with nice dry flatish inner faces...
my question is what is your preferred blade grind & thickness for carving fire sticks?
Hey Crocket, great video. Lots of good information here. I stumbled on the video after watching a Ray Mears video.
Thanks. Hope things are going well your way.
My feather sticks suck because I’ve never really had to use them...A bunch of twigs or small kindling on top of fatwood has never not worked for me. Fatwood has always been readily available to me tho
Was that last one scrub oak? That stuff is hard to work (and painful when bushwhacking).
I believe so. Gnarly stuff too. Very difficult to find a straight enough piece to work with.
Thanks for this video. I am a knife guy, but my strength is in folders. I am a novice bush-craft
type. So I am learning and still trying out a lot of fixed blade knives to find out what will work best for me. (Of course there are a lot of things that will work best for pretty much everyone - I liked your video on what you would take on Alone).
I never heard of the "lock the elbow" method before, so thanks for that.
What part of North America are you from?
what make and model knife are you using?
Grat video, absolutely going to try this out today! Cheers from Sweden (p.s. our beloved F1-knife is a pain in the ass when it comes to making feather sticks :D)
Enjoy your time while giving it a try. thanks for watching.
No mention of the species used, or do I miss something?
pine+mora=feathers
@French Frys It’s fine enough for a spark if you do it correctly.
@French Frys You can say what you want but it has worked for me 1 million times and I am no expert. Get finer feathers and then do chunky ones to keep the flame. Works just fine
@French Frys if you say so. I know guys from all over the country including the Pacific Northwest. They can even start fire with a bow drill. It’s about skill and practice. But honestly whatever gets your fire going is all that matters. It’s not necessary to use sparks there are a million other ways to go
@chance margheim I'm right there with you. I've started many fires with feather sticks. Never had much of an issue.
@Chance Margheim I agree, it’s all about practice. Look up NW Primate on here. He literally gets bow drill fires lit, with wet wood, in the snow. Anything is possible with practice. I have gotten very fine feather sticks to light in pretty damp situations in the adirondack mountains and here in North Carolina. Just gotta take your time and do good prep so your setting yourself up for success.
thanks for the tips. definitely going to keep working on it. what knife were you using? that handle looks a bout perfect for me.
BHK Scout if memory serves. Great little knife. Getting ready to do a review.
Hey Crocket, a bit off-topic, but what are those gloves you are wearing? They look like an insulated version of my "Tactical Original Covert" gloves, but I can't find the insulated ones with that color anywhere. How do you like them?
They're an insulated version of the Mechanix gloves. I picked them up at Walmart I think last year. Wasn't even looking for them and walked by and said "got to have those."
What knife are you using? I don't recognize it off hand.
BHK Patriot Scout
Cr0cket20 are we going to see a review? It looks like a great knife.
Say Heah CrOcket, Nice to see you. There's this Russian Guy, he did a video on how some make feathers in Siberia. I sort of started to use that technique, and All's Well. I actually don't look for small pieces of branches, I use a whole dead fall, the steeper the angle the better, or sometimes I position the wood. But a good 60°-70° angle standing is good. I also don't make a big bunch of feathers, but many smaller ones. Also I don't primarily go for ultra thin, as long as there's thin and not so thick, but again many of 3-4 strans.,,.p
Cool man glad you found a way that works well for you.
Cr0cket20 Yeah, it's a no Brainer, but it works great. No more looking for a straight no knots branch, any standing dead fall works, OK. As long as your using a nice sharp knife.,,.p
Do you use the gerber spine
I enjoyed your instructional video!
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the vid. I enjoyed it and your dog.
Thanks. Glad it could help.
Very good thoughts! Cheers, Marc
appreciate the watch.
Hey what's your opinion on mora knives for bushcraft?
The two Moras I have work great. Love the grinds and the handles are excellent.
Nice.. I just need to practice more.
Thanks for the video
Thanks. That is really very useful. 👍
Where did you get the hat?
A coworker at my previous company gave it to me. I think his brother started a climbing company or something. Honestly it was the first beenie I grabbed to keep the ol' bald head warm.
Wich knife did you use?
ua-cam.com/video/Ti_1NQzHzJk/v-deo.html
The last speci looks like beech, and it is in my opionion not the best for feathers
ive found conifers are the best for making feather sticks or solid broadleaves like Oak, ironwood, hazel etc..............The top tip is to get out of the wind and make the best ones you can and make fire. Its that simple. Modern art masterpieces are great but those that look like crap work too..........lol.......my curls are crap compared to what i used to be able to do. Out of practice................or in laymans terms..........lazy. lol...........Its easy when theres birch bark and tamarack twigs at hand.
Great info. :D I can get my feathers to take spark but still trying to improve and make it better/finer. The tips/info in this was very helpful especially mid way thru. TFS. Subbing :D C.R.
Appreciate the sub. Glad the vid could help.
Your worst is better than my best.
nicely done,well explained
greetings from belgium
atb
steve
appreciate it.
Good video. thumbs up.
scrub oak is really crooked.
Did you notice that the video of you making the feathers and a little one minute video of your dog eating them got more views
Yes. My dog is definitely cuter than I am.
good stuff thanks.
appreciate it.
I have been using a spoon the whole time
That's how I started too. I graduated to a fork and now the knife. The hardships I learned were well worth it though.
What 🔪 ?
ua-cam.com/video/Ti_1NQzHzJk/v-deo.html&index=28
Your feather sticks sucks!!!
Thanks for watching.